Instituto Cervantes Library in London

Archive for the ‘1956’ Category

Juan Díaz has been locked in jail for ten years for a murder he did not commit. When he is set free, he and his sister swear to kill Luis el Torcido, whom they believe is to blame for all his tragedies.

On leaving jail, Juan needs money and, when the harvesting period arrives, he decides to enrol with his sister in the harvesters’ team that Luis el Torcido organizes.

Manolo, the police oficer in charge of directing the traffic at the Plaza de la Cibeles, is almost as popular as the goddess and the two lions which pull her chariot. All drivers in Madrid know him, love him and organize a campaign to bring him back to directing the traffic when he is removed to Vallecas due to a defamation campaign carried out by Armando, his adopted daughter’s, Paloma, indignant suitor. To make things worse his newborn baby has been swap for another at the church where he had taken him for christianing.

A recurring theme in Buñuel’s work is the attack of Christianity, and even more, Catholicism. His first important reflection about this theme is made in this film. The father Lisardi, a noble priest who supports a group of unjust rebel persecutors accompanies them in their flight across the jungle.

The group confronts great hardships: hunger, thirst, animals and savages… On the point of dying of hunger, they come across a crashed plane with supplies of food.

The father Lisardi thanks God for his help. In contrast, Chark, a sceptical adventurer and leader of the group believes that the help was thanks to them, God had crashed the plane to kill the people on it. The idealism and coherence of the priest is placed against the reason and pragmatism of the adventurer which results in a fight for survival.

Fernando is dedicated to organise weddings and in this occasion he ahs to organise the wedding of two of his friends who don´t know each other: Juan and Ana. After having passed ten years in Africa on safari Juan goes to Spain by plane where he hopes to meet his wife that arrives on the same day but from Buenos Aires.

Juan is greeted by Fernando at the airport and they go to the airport bar to wait for Ana. Everything starts badly. Juan drinks a beer and spills it all over himself. When Ana arrives she is disgusted at her husband and is not pleased by the state he is in. Fernando then goes to a hotel with Ana where they are to meet other newlyweds and where the honeymoon will begin.

Some ragamuffins simulate an accident and rob a bag. To their surprise, it happens to be the one of the famous footballer Alfredo Di Stefano, popularly known as “La Saeta Rubia”.

Moved by the admiration for their idol, the ragamuffins decide to hand it back. From this moment on they become very close friends of the Di Stefanos and project together the foundation of the football team “Saeta”…

When Professor Hamilton, a naive scholar who believed that hydrogen and cobalt atomic bombs were good for humanity, decided to flee upon realizing his mistake, taking with him his inventions. He was hiding in the most marvellous village in the world where one can live and die in peace: Calabuch.

Calabuch is a place where people can still live with a sense of humour, with friendship, waiting for death to come like an old friend that comes by foot without haste, taking along one at a time, instead of coming whistling through the air and killing half the world at one stroke. This is Calabuch.